Turning off electronic devices, all
technology for minutes, hours, or days, is this even possible? For one man,
William Powers, it was possible. Powers (2010) states, “On weekends, the house
is a kind of island, away from the madness, our disconnectopia” (p. 232). After
reading a few chapters in Powers book, "Hamlet’s Blackberry," I was intrigued by
the results of his technology ‘disconnectopia’ and decided to go on a media
fast myself. I mean nothing bad can come
from putting a cellphone down, right? As Powers (2010) puts it, “only then
(putting down the cellphone) did the experience take on an unexpected richness
and significance” (p. 209).
On day one, I decided to leave my
phone in my dorm room while I ventured to class that morning. I will admit that
I have a tendency to walk and text everywhere I go. I noticed myself reaching
for my pocket to pull out my cellphone, only to remember that I was not
carrying it. I began to look around campus, the trees, the freshly mowed grass,
and faces I may be walking by every single day on my way to Psychology. I saw
many people with blank stares, others smiles, and still others picking up my
habits of immersing themselves in their cellphones. I took a deep breath to
fill my lungs with the crisp morning air and a smile slowly spread across my
face.
Somehow, not having a cellphone made
me feel invincible I was renewed, born again in a sense. I was overwhelmed with
happiness and as I feel the smile on my face grow larger I notice the other
students around me looking in my direction. Little did I know, that my smile
was wearing off on the people around me and as I locked eyes will a couple
individuals their blank stares turned into delight and happiness. “Although a
smart phone brings convenience and a sense of security, it takes away the
possibility of true separateness” (Powers, 2010, p. 213). By giving up my
phone, for a short afternoon, I was able to experience this separateness that Powers
(2010) talked about. I was separated from the “global crowd” and connected with
the crowd of individuals within my reach (Powers,
2010, p. 15).
The funny thing about the digital
world, verses the literal world, is that the digital crowd will always be
there. With the simple tap of a button I can reach my boyfriend, my mother, my
teacher but this girl, walking beside me now, will not be there in one year,
two weeks, three minutes. Without “a healthy balance between connected and
disconnected, crowds and self, the outward life and the inward one” technology
can be a drug (Powers, 2010, p. 210). An addiction that is nearly impossible to
overcome an addiction that is changing our lives. The opportunity is now, I
have the opportunity to make someone smile by simply reaching out and saying
hello, how could I let that pass by? Again, Powers (2010) could not have said
it any better, “in letting screens run my life, I discount the rest of my existence,
effectively renouncing my own wholeness” (p. 210).
References
Powers, W. (2010). Hamlet’s Blackberry.
(PDF document). Retrieved from My.UNL
Academic Portal Web site: https://blackboard.unl.edu/webapps/portal/execute/tabs/tab
Action?tab_tab_group_id=_15_1
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